I showed the news article to one of our very pro-breastfeeding neonatologists who is also a premier researcher.  He said exactly what I knew he would, and what the people on the bfmed list are saying:  "Who did this study?  Where is it published?  What were the methods of the study?  And how in the world did they come up with those figures?"

When somebody finds the original study, please let me know.  There are a lot of people out there looking for it to see what the study methods were, and how good the research really is.

In the meantime, I hope we don't all go around quoting this small study as gospel truth (which is one of the things that reduces our credibility with the scientific community)   until we take a very close look at the research methods and how those conclusions were reached.

 In the most current CDC book out about SIDS (2000), Peter Fleming, who has studied literally thousands of SIDS cases and compared them with carefully selected controls, says:  "Whilst the benefits to the infant from breast-feeding for as long a time as possible have been clearly shown in many studies, we could not find any evidence of an independent effect of breast-feeding in reducing the risk of SIDS.  Breast-feeding should be strongly encouraged,but it is incorrect to use a reduction in the risk of SIDS as a reason to do so."

I am postponing a personal opinion  until I find out more about it.
Deanne, RN  IBCLC
NICU

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